Root grubbing plow

A grubbing plow for extraction of vegetation from soil said plow being mounted to a vehicle by a 3-point hitch having two lower arms and an upper attachment point, said grubbing plow including means enabling the extraction of vegetation from the soil while said vehicle is maintained stationary, comprising:

• (a) a horizontal pivot bar journaled at opposite ends thereof on said lower arms;
• (b) an upwardly directed crank arm extending from the center of said pivot bar;
• (c) a pair of spaced apart plates integral with and extending downwardly from said pivot bar, each having rectangular horizontal cross section and oriented with the long cross-sectional dimensions normal to the length of said pivot bar;
• (d) a knife-edged, V-shaped blade integrally attached to the lower ends of said plates and lying in a plane perpendicular to the length of said plates;
• (e) a double acting hydraulic cylinder connected between said upper attachment point and the upper end of said crank arm for forcing said blade to follow an arc centered on the axis of said pivot bar, said double acting hydraulic cylinder moving said blade between a first position within the soil for engaging the vegetation to be grubbed through said arc to a second position for lifting and removing the vegetation from the soil, such that the vegetation is extracted from the soil solely by operation of said hydraulic cylinder swinging said blade through said arc while the vehicle is maintained stationary;
• and
• (f) a force transmitting member including a leg member pivotally mounted to said horizontal pivot bar and extending away from said horizontally mounted pivot bar for providing contact with the ground on the opposite side of said spaced apart plates from which said blade extends, for transmitting to the ground a substantial portion of the reaction forces produced by said blade when said blade moves through said arc.

A method of grubbing a small tree comprising the steps of:

• moving a vehicle adjacent the tree;
• stopping the vehicle adjacent the tree and maintaining the vehicle stationary while the tree is uprooted;
• advancing the knife-edge of a V-shaped blade attached to the vehicle from the earth's surface along a substantially linear path to a position below the earth's surface adjacent the tree;
• actuating a hydraulic cylinder attached between the vehicle and the blade for rotating the blade through an arcuate path to thereby move the blade initially downward to engage the tree below the earth's surface, then horizontally and then arcuately upwardly to uproot the tree while maintaining the vehicle stationary, such that the blade is moved through the arcuate path by operation of the hydraulic cylinder;
• and
• simultaneously transmitting a substantial portion of the reaction forces produced from resistance encountered by the blade below the earth's surface directly through a force transmitting member while the blade travels through the arcuate path, thereby transmitting reaction forces to the earth's surface and reducing the reaction forces transmitted to the vehicle.